Special Education Policy & Urban District Research Intern

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is a diverse team of passionate, education-focused professionals responsible for overseeing and enhancing the quality of education for each of Ohio’s 1.7 million students. The Department provides the resources and supports essential to raising student achievement and accelerating learning opportunities, advancing the connectivity between K-12 and postsecondary learning, creating programs to support and expand workforce experiences, and ensuring students have the necessary supports to be ready each day to learn.

As the governing body responsible for overseeing and enhancing the quality of education within the State of Ohio, the Department of Education and Workforce is dedicated to promoting educational excellence and ensuring equal access to learning opportunities for all students. The Department is committed to collaborating with schools, districts, educators, students, families, businesses, nonprofits and all stakeholders to achieve our educational goals.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is seeking an intern to work with the Office for Exceptional Children’s Urban Supports Team. The intern will contribute to research and communication efforts aimed at supporting urban school districts in Ohio. Primary responsibilities include researching special education policies, exploring initiatives from other states, and identifying strategies to advance equity-related initiatives in urban education. The intern will also assist with program development and play a key role in sharing success stories from Ohio’s urban districts through social media, written reports, and other communication platforms. This role offers hands-on experience in education policy research and communications, while developing an understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing urban school districts.

Major Responsibilities & Duties:

Under direction of the Assistant Administrator – Urban Supports in the Office for Exceptional Children:

• Conduct research on special education policies and initiatives at the state and national levels.
• Explore strategies and approaches used by other states to support urban school districts and gather insights that can be applied to Ohio.
• Compile and present research findings to inform decision-making and program development in written and graphical formats.
• Assist in advancing equity-related initiatives and researching policies that impact urban education.
• Prepare presentations for stakeholder engagement.
• Create content for social media and other communication platforms to highlight best practices and success stories from urban districts across Ohio.
• Help develop creative ways to engage educators and stakeholders on social media, ensuring the content is engaging and informative.
• Collaborate with the Urban Support Team to identify key areas for research and communication outreach.
• Communicate in written report/presentations both research findings and Ohio’s urban district accomplishments.
• Use various tools and technologies to prepare and share documents and reports.

$20.00 per hour for undergraduate students

$24.00 per hour for graduate students